Photobeam Curtain Maze Monitor

General Information

The new Photobeam Curtain available for our Multi-Varimex Maze Monitor improves upon the traditional single-photobeam design. A vertical array of 8, narrow, Infrared beams create a series of horizontal beams in a vertical plane to act as a detection gates at prudent points within a maze; most commonly near the beginning and end of each arm. The curtain is able to distinguish the animal's tail from the body for more accurate detection of exploratory behavior.

Traditional single-beam monitors are susceptible to erroneous readings because of the subject's tail or body size. If the animal turns around near a gate the tail may interrupt the IR beam and record only a single beam break, which is erroneously scored as a full entry into the arm. Additionally some mazes that are used with large variety of subject species and sizes may find that some are able to (unknowingly) pass by the IR beam without detection by either running under or jumping over it.

The Photobeam Curtain solves these problems by only scoring entries when several beams are broken, ignoring single beam breaks as tail interference. Additionally the curtain spans a broader height range (5.5 mm from the floor up to 58.5 mm above) which is near impossible to pass by without detection.

The Photobeam Curtain is ideal for mazes where traditional IR beams have resulted in these problems. It's also a perfect solution for when video tracking is not ideal due to less-than-ideal lighting or maze lids that obstruct the view from an overhead camera. It also serves as an economical alternative to expensive video tracking systems when the maze has only a few arms, like Elevated Plus Maze, Radial Arm Maze, "T" Maze or Figure "8" Maze.